The Peter Gosden Fellowship

Introduction

In 2015, the History of Education Society will fund the second annual Peter Gosden Fellowship. The purpose of this Fellowship will be to build upon the achievements associated with the first Fellowship, in terms of establishing a higher public profile for the History of Education Society, its associated publications and conferences, and other activities concerned with the study and teaching of the history of education both in the UK and abroad. In particular, the Fellow will be tasked with maintaining a social media presence utilising a weblog (on the Society's website), Twitter and Facebook. This online activity will continue to develop an interactive web-presence in the period leading up to the 50th anniversary of the Society.

The Fellowship will start on 1^st February 2015 and finish on 31^st January 2016.

The Fellow will be mentored by the Society's publicity/website officer Dr Rob Freathy (University of Exeter).

Responsibilities

• The Fellow will be responsible for the following:
• Ensuring that a weblog is posted on the Society’s website at least once a month;
• Ensuring that regular Tweets are posted as and when necessary/appropriate/requested by the Society’s publicity/website officer;
• Ensuring that regular entries are added to the Facebook page as and when necessary/appropriate/requested by the Society’s publicity/website officer;
• Liaising on a regular basis with the Society’s postgraduate represent to maximise efficiency and effectiveness when publicising news and events pertaining to postgraduate students;
• Liaising with the organisers of the annual conferences (student and main conferences) to ensure appropriate and timely publicity over calls for papers, Tweeting of conference content, blogging of conference reports, book prizes, and similar;
• Consulting with the Society’s publicity/website officer on a regular basis, to be mutually agreed, with regard to the frequency, content and style of the ‘posts’, Tweets and Facebook entries; and
• Attending History of Education Society Executive Committee meetings (when necessary).

Note: So long as the authorship of all ‘posts’, Tweets and Facebook entries is appropriately acknowledged, so as to avoid any contravention of copyright law, it will be permissible for the Fellow to simply co-ordinate the social media activity rather than write all of the content his or herself.

Package

The Fellow will receive:

• £1,000 as an honorarium
• a year’s membership of the Society
• free attendance at the Society's annual conferences (i.e. the student and main conferences).

Notes:

• The honorarium will be paid in four instalments (each of £250).
• The year’s membership of the Society will entail receipt of free copies of History of Education Researcher and History of Education. (The second is additional to standard membership.)
• Payment for attendance at the Society's conferences will include the conference fee (including conference meals if these are additional costs), accommodation costs (to be agreed in advance) and standard class travel expenses.

Application information

Applications are welcome from anyone interested in furthering the missions and aims of the History of Education Society. These include the promotion of the study and teaching of the history of education; promoting the public profile and an informed public understanding of the history of education by engaging in relevant debates; providing collaboration and exchange among those interested in the history of education in the UK and around the world; and promoting links with the study and teaching of history at all levels. Previous recipients of a Peter Gosden Fellowship are welcome to re-apply.

Applicants should ideally be undertaking or have completed a postgraduate degree in the history of education or a cognate field of enquiry. Personal or professional experience of utilising social media, such as weblogs, Twitter and/or Facebook, would be desirable. Applicants should also be able to name two referees whom we may approach for references.

Location: The Fellow can be based in any locality, but must have ready access to the relevant Information Technology and to a reliable internet connection.

Application closing date: 31^st December 2014.

Short-listed applicants will be interviewed via Skype on a date and time to be arranged. Unsuccessful applicants will not be contacted.

Interested applicants should contact the President of the History of Education Society, Dr Cathy Burke, on cb552@cam.ac.uk.

November is #histedmonth

#histedmonth uses social media to encourage collaboration and networking between individuals and groups interested in the history of education. It seeks to promote the history of education by engaging the wider public. 

The theme of #histedmonth this year is: ‘Personalising the History of Education’

During #histedmonth we’ll be reflecting on questions like: 

• What is my own history of education? 
• What are the histories of the institutions I have attended (and taught at)? 
• Why do I think the history of education is important and exciting? What aspects of the history of education inspire me, and why?

Here are some initial plans for #histedmonth. Please develop #histedmonth by adding your own initiatives and publicising them on social media.

#histedmonth on Twitter:

• Share your favourite quotes from figures in the history of education or from historians of education (if the quote is too long, turn it into a picture using a text box on Microsoft paint – here you could also add a photo of the author too) – These are best posted on Tuesdays through November using both the hashtag #histedmonth and #TuesdayQuote.

• Add posts relating to your own history of education. Share your school photos, toys you played with, educational television programs you enjoyed, events in education you experienced, images and videos from the institutions you attended. These are best posted on Thursdays through November: use both the hashtag #histedmonth and #tbt (‘Throwback Thursday’). Remember to include the twittertags for any institutions in your posts.

• Recommend sources and ideas relating to the history of education to others – e.g. another Tweeter that they should follow, a website to look at, a book to read, a video to watch etc. This is a great way to publicise new books, journals, websites and writers. These posts are best added on Fridays through November: use both #histedmonth and #ff (‘Follow Friday’).

You might also like to include the following hashtags in your posts: #histed #twitterstorians and #edchat to connect with historians of education, historians and those interested in education.

#histedmonth blog posts:

Here at the History of Education Society UK blog we are inviting contributions to their blog in all forms (text, image, video, mixed). Here are some questions to prompt blog post ideas for #histedmonth: 

• How do you define the ‘history of education’; what does it mean to you? 
• How did you become interested in the aspect of the history of education you study? Why do you see it as important?
• Which books or authors inspired you to study the history of education? Why?
• Which figures in history or political developments inspired you to study the history of education Why?
• What do you see as the biggest issues in the history of education today?
• What are the histories of the institutions you attended or taught at (from schools through to higher education)? 
• What was your own experience of education / childhood /adolescence / adult education / teaching. Think about and share aspects of your own experience such as learning resources, pedagogies, popular perceptions of schools and education, political developments in education…

10 Documentaries on the History of Education

by Charlotte Rochez

"Above all, documentary must reflect the problems and realities of the present. It cannot regret the past; it is dangerous to prophesy the future. It can, and does, draw on the past in its use of existing heritages but it only does so to give point to a modern argument. In no sense is documentary a historical reconstruction and attempts to make it so are destined to failure. Rather it is contemporary fact and event expressed in relation to human associations."
- Paul Rotha (1935)  

While some might question their academic value, documentaries provide an accessible, relatively popular, window through which to look at the history of education. For many of us a relevant documentary provides an opportunity for a moment of tea, toast and 'guilt-free' TV. Sometimes a documentary sparks a lively debate or new line of academic interest.

Discussing documentaries with friends of the History of Education Society, produced the following sample of ten thought-provoking film recommendations. What would you add? Please share your favourites with us on Twitter and Facebook.

The Ladybird Books Story: How Britain Got the Reading Bug (BBC4 - Timeshift)

Documentary on the creation and popularity of the Ladybird books, provides insights into literacy, learning of the world, and childhood culture of the second half of the twentieth century. Most interesting are the illustrations capturing the 1950s idealisation of childhood. 

The Wellbriety Movement: Journey of Forgiveness

Oral testimonies document the abuses of the Indian Boarding Schools of North America and discuss their ongoing impact experienced as continued intergenerational trauma suffered in native communities.

BBC 4 - Commonwealth on Film: Childhood

A piece of 'imperial nostalgia'. Footage from the mid twentieth century. Segments on connecting teachers and children in rural Canada (school boat, and school rail car) and Australia (radio). Clips of schools in Barbados and Kenya and interviews with Indian school boys.

Hitler's Children (Guido Knopp & ZDF Contemporary History Department)

Five-part documentary on Hitler's harnessing of children in the Third Reich, and their experiences through the Jungvolk, Hitler Youth to the Wehrmacht, SA or SS.

Helen Keller Documentary

Helen Keller born in 1882, suffered an illness as an infant which left her blind and deaf. This documentary tells of her life and how with Anne Sullivan's aid she became able to communicate, growing up to become the first deafblind person to gain a bachelor of arts degree.

British Children at War and Play (The British Council Film Collection) 

1940s footage of children at school and at play and during evacuation. The film provides a window into contemporary educational ideals, including gendered education, a concern for charater development and a high valuation of progressive play-based pedagogy in the early years.

Pink Floyd - The Brick in the Wall Kids

Documentary offers insights into experiences and perceptions of schooling in 1970s and 1980s London. The former pupils of Islington Green School featured on Pink Floyd's 1980 hit, 'Another Brick in the Wall' reflect on their day-to-day experiences of school and growing up and relate the song to their lives. Roger Waters, the song's writer, speaks of the creation and meaning of the song. Best watched in conjunction with 'The Wall' itself.

British Pathé Collection

Not a documentary as such, searching for 'education' or 'schooling' within the Brisith Pathé Collection returns engaging footage from the mid twentieth century.

Human Resources: Social Engineering In The 20th Century  (Metanoia Films)

Scott Noble seeks to expose how modern capitalist states and systems exploit human beings as a resource. The clip below is the film's treatment of modern schooling and its relationship to behaviourism and control, with a strong focus on the work of John Taylor Gatto. The full documentary deals further with the topic of the exploitation of human resources in relation to work, production, war, society and culture.

Sunday Schools: Reading, Writing and Redemption (BBC 4)

Charting the history of the Sunday Schools from their origins helping with literacy for the poor, to their popularity in the Victorian era to their decline in the late twentieth century, this film documents the influence of Sunday Schools upon British culture and education.

Exploring the history of education through pop music

by Charlotte Rochez

“The times you lived through, the people you shared those times with — nothing brings it all to life like an old mix tape. It does a better job of storing up memories than actual brain tissue can do. Every mix tape tells a story. Put them together, and they can add up to the story of a life.” 

― Rob Sheffield, Love is a Mix Tape

Did you ever make a mixtape when you were younger? What memories do those songs bring back? How do they relate to your educational experiences? Do you think your mixtape was similar to others of your generation? Would those songs bring back similar memories for them? A top hit would likely be meaningful to many different people of similar ages, though it may be imbued with distinct recollections.

If, rather than reflecting on your own experience, you were to nominate a song relating to the broader theme of 'education', which would you choose? And if we were to take these collectively, what might such a 'people's playlist' tell us about the history of education over the last 60 years?

Popular music is not only culturally reflective, it may be prophetic, provocative or ameliorative. Charting such a musical history may afford insights into popular perceptions, the creation and proliferation of contemporary ideas and the dialogue between them.

In following playlist of British popular music relating to education we witness the movement of positive associations or reminiscences of schools and teachers to a criticism of the school system, its methods and aims. This is not a simple trajectory; Madness's 'Baggy Trousers' celebrates good times within a flawed system was as a response to Pink Floyd's critical condemnation of schooling in 'Another Brick in the Wall'. Through time similar motives reappear: Busted’s ‘What I go to school for’ sexualises the theme of teacher admiration in Lulu’s ‘To Sir With Love’ and Elton John’s ‘Teacher I need you’; the Kaiser Chiefs’ ‘Never Miss a Beat’ echoes Madness’s ‘Baggy Trousers’ in celebration of cheeky youthful defiance, but with young people’s location moved from messing around in school spaces, to playing truant on the streets.

In US music, too, there is a movement from celebrating schools as a place of learning to challenging the pedagogy and curriculum of conventional schooling, and more recently to questioning the impact of social stratification according to popularity on adult life experiences. 

Which songs do feel provide particular insights into the history of education? Share with us on Twitter or Facebook.

What's the point of HES blog?

By Charlotte Rochez

It is estimated that only 10 percent of historians share their scholarship in digital form in openly-accessible forms online (Townsend 2010 cited Nawrotzki & Dougherty 2013). In questioning this lack of engagement, and in devising this blog, I listened to historians' discussions on blogging. Their conversations tended to concentrate on the following four questions:

1. Do serious scholars blog?

The digital age is challenging the traditional relationship between forms of publication and academic esteem. Once academic publications were confined to print in monographs, peer-reviewed articles and recited conference papers. Today these modes are being challenged, with academic events hosted in virtual spaces and academic theses published online. Some academic blog posts better resemble journal articles. Others share academic content without 'academic' tone, structure or language. By posting their work online, scholars invite others to respond and are able to use this critical feedback to inform their ongoing research.  Blog posts are useful for scholars who are serious about impact. Open-access blogs, with links, embedded sources and concise writing may enable scholars to publicly share reflections on the latest literature, research, events and findings in their field.

  

2. Don't you need a lot of time and techno-how to blog?

For those who do recognise the benefits of sharing on-going reflections (or full-publications) online, some feel they lack the resources to do so. Whilst new platforms have simplified the process of blog creation and design, for many, the prospect of crafting (and publicising) regular blog posts is a daunting or unrealistic addition to their already strained academic workloads. Multi-contributor blogs offer a much-needed opportunity for writers to create occasional blog posts.

3. Does anyone read blog posts?

Internet entrepreneur Evan Williams recognises that "blogging got the concept of personal publishing, but it didn't really take advantage of the network". Picture yourself sharing your astute reflections openly online only to reach no audience; without publicising your post in relevant online platforms it becomes another message bobbing alone in a sea of unlabelled plastic bottles. The most popular blog-posts serve as articulations sparking, or developing, academic conversations and are linked to interested and engaged communities on social media. 

4. How does publishing online benefit researchers?

Most academics receive little or no profit directly from printed publications. However those profits, and the chances of acceptance for publication, may be increased through demonstrating online interest and engagement. This indicates to publishers (and editors) that there is a market and a means of advertisement for the work. By establishing their presence amongst online academic communities, academics are able to publicise themselves and their work. Melissa Terras found that papers that are tweeted and blogged about have "at least more than 11 times the number of downloads".

How does the HES blog respond to these questions?

The HES blog is an open-access platform for those interested in the history of education to share and discuss our work and to reflect on the work of others. Freed from the demands of creating and regularly updating an individual blog, HES welcomes occasional or one-off contributions. In moving away from the model of individual bloggers seeking to publicise and network their personal publications, HES draws upon its existing network, for both authorship and readership. The blog is linked to the HES website, and its posts are advertised to its twitter followers and facebook fans.

Details on how to contribute a post to this History of Education Society Blog can be found here.